William Jefferson Clinton

William Jefferson Clinton
U.S. President

True first edition of "My Life," President Clinton's autobiography, signed in black pen.

Normally I try to keep text to a minimum when describing events on this blog, so apologies for running a bit long on this one. Last night I had the pleasure of attending a rally at the Portland Exposition Building for Senator Mike Michaud's gubernatorial campaign, with special guest President Bill Clinton! This was my first time having an opportunity to see a president speak in person!* Although the rally was scheduled to start at 7:30 and the doors didn't open until 5:30, I took the afternoon off from work and showed up at the Expo several hours early, around 2:30. I was the third person there. Half an hour or so before the doors opened I and the other hundred or so people who had already arrived were greeted by Mike himself. I've met him a few times since he was elected to congress, and think he'd make a fantastic governor. Two hours later (the rally started half an hour early, presumably because most of the ticket-holders had arrived) it was extremely hot in the building - it was 80 degrees outside, and the building itself is apparently not air conditioned and has poor air circulation. That combined with 1,600 people pressed together made for intense heat and humidity. Half an hour into the rally a woman standing right behind me fainted and had to be carried out by paramedics.

President Clinton himself came on stage with Mike Michaud around 8:00. Michaud's speech focused heavily on fighting for veterans, specifically on the bipartisan veteran's healthcare reform bill passed earlier this year, whereas Clinton's speech focused on bringing people together, getting things done and Mike Michaud's attributes that will make him a successful governor. You can get a taste for it in the video clip at the Portland Press Herald article linked at the bottom of the page.

Arriving at the Expo four and a half hours really paid off for me. I was at the rope line, about 6 feet from the podium. In fact, that's the back of my head in front of the "I Like Mike" sign on the podium. After his speech President Clinton came around the rope line. I had the opportunity to shake his hand, talk to him for a minute and have my copy of his autobiography signed. I feel very lucky; with 1,600 attendants, I was one of only perhaps 100 people to have the opportunity to shake President Clinton's hand, and one of only 6 to get something signed.

http://www.pressherald.com/2014/09/02/bill-clinton-are-we-coming-together-or-drifting-apart/

*Full Disclosure: I could have seen President Obama speak at the dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial in Washington D.C., as I was in the area that weekend. Unfortunately, even though I was just a few minutes walk away, I didn't realize that the dedication was going on until the next day.